Nottingham in call for more city freedoms

Councillors agreed to sign up to the Modern Charter for Local Freedom, a document that sets out the powers Nottingham and other big cities around the UK need to prosper.

The charter, created in the 800th anniversary year of the Magna Carta, was launched at the Core Cities UK Devolution Summit in February where it was signed by council leader Cllr Jon Collins as well as city leaders and mayors from across the country.

The motion, put forward by Councillor Collins, asked the council to recognise that ‘cities are the engines of growth in the British economy’.

And it reminded councillors that the ten Core Cities outside London, including Nottingham, deliver 28% of the combined economic output of England, Wales and Scotland but have far fewer freedoms, powers and resources than their international competitors.

It added: “Independent forecasts show that with additional devolved powers the eight English Core Cities alone could generate an extra £222 billion and 1.16 million jobs for the country by 2030.

“This council resolves to support the call for greater devolution to cities, as set out in the Modern Charter for Local Freedom, to address the urgent challenges of driving prosperity, increasing equality and strengthening democracy.

“Only in this way do we believe we can prepare the city for the challenges of the next decades in order to improve the lives of Nottingham people.

“We encourage citizens, businesses, partners and other organisations in the city to add their name to the Modern Charter for Local Freedom.”

The charter is also available to view and sign at the Core Cities UK website - http://www.corecities.com/what-we-do/publications/modern-charter-local-freedom